The Way Things Used To Be
by Kimmy Larisa
Summary: The story of Lily, James, and all of there friends in Hogwarts. A few OC's and Love/Hate. Will later be L/J. R/R! (much more interesting then the summary) Chapter 2: In Djibouti (Ch. 1 revised)
1. The Meetings of 9 People

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3 This fic has nothing to do with my other fics. I thought of this idea so I wrote this instead. If you like it I will continue it and forget about my other ones. So PLEASE tell me what you think about it. Oh, and I tried to make it different from lots of other fics.  
  
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6 The Way Things Used to Be  
  
  
  
"This is so amazing!" said Lily Evans as she twisted her red hair between her fingers. Her bright green eyes starred at the Hogwarts Express.  
  
Arabella Figg couldn't help but laugh at her Muggle-Born friend. Bella was tall with reddish-brown hair put in a braided ponytail and grayish-blue eyes. "I know it is Lily, just like it has been for the last month."  
  
"Shut up." Lily and Bella had been best friends since they were six. Bella was a half-blood and had only admitted to being a witch a month ago when both she and Lily had gotten their Hogwarts letters. Bella had spent the last month tell Lily every detail about magic.  
  
Both of their parents had been so happy the girls were going to Hogwarts (Lily's parents had spent just as long learning about magic). Bella's sisters Ophelia and Janine were extremely happy for the girls. Janine was 9- years-old. Ophelia was 14-years-old. She never had any magic experiences and was a Squib. The 14-years-old Petunia Evans, who had always loved her sister deeply, had shunned her for the last month. No one thought she would ever get over the fact that her sister was a witch and she wasn't.  
  
"Let's get on the train so we can get an compartment," said Bella. The girls dragged their trunks and the animal caged they each had (Lily had a owl named Daisy and Bella had a cat named Diana) on to the train into the nearest compartment.  
  
"Can you believe that in a few short hours we'll be Hogwarts students?" Lily cried in excitement.  
  
"Lily, if that is the only thing you are going to talk about for the next few hours I think I want some new friends."  
  
"You know we should make new friends," said Lily. "We still have half an hour 'till the train leaves, how about we go outside and talk to some people. It's always good to make new friends."  
  
"I wonder if any of my old friends are going to Hogwarts this year. I used to have two friends, Frank and Remus, when I was little and as far as we knew we were all going to Hogwarts the same year."  
  
The two 1st years walked outside, they brought Daisy and Diana with them since they didn't trust them only with anyone. Parents were saying tearful good-byes to their children and students were meeting up with their school friends. Lily didn't look where she was going and accidentally walked right into girl who looked a little older then them. She had light brown hair and gray eyes. Daisy's cage fell to the ground.  
  
"I'm so sorry!" said the girl as she picked up the cage and handed it to Lily.  
  
"No it was my fault," said Lily. "I wasn't looking where I was going."  
  
The girl looked back and forth between Lily and Bella. "Wait a minute, are you Arabella Figg?"  
  
"Yeah," said Bella. "Wait… Audray? Audray Lupin! I haven't seen you for over 2 years!"  
  
"I know! It's been forever. Wow, your taller then Remus now." She looked at Lily. "And this must be the famous Lily Evans I've heard so much about!"  
  
"Lily, this is Audray Lupin. She's a 4th year; our families were friends. She was one of Ophelia best friends until – "  
  
"I got excepted and she started to hate me," said Audray.  
  
"She doesn't hate you! She was just mad she was a Squib."  
  
"Anyway I have to get on the train. Remus and Frank should be around here somewhere." She scanned the crowd. "Oh, there they are. Well, bye Bella. And it was nice to finally meet you Lily. Bye." Audray left and went on the train.  
  
"Which ones are Remus and Frank?" asked Lily.  
  
"You'll see. Remy! Frankie! Did you two really think you could find from me all this time?" Bella yelled across the platform. Unfortunately Bella didn't yell loud enough for everyone to turn and look like she wanted.  
  
On the other side of the platform Frank and Remus were having their own discussion.  
  
  
  
"Let's see it's 10:42," said Remus Lupin looking at his watch. "That means you owe me 5 Gallons."  
  
"Evil Remus, your pure evil," said Frank Longbottom as he handed Remus the money. "I was only 3 minutes off."  
  
Remus and Frank had been friends most of their lives. Their parents had been friends and so were they. Remus had light brown hair and gray eyes and he also had an older sister named Audray in her 4th year. Frank on the other hand had dark brown hair and hazel eyes and had a younger sister named Gwen who was 9-years-old. They had also known Bella for most of their lives too. Even thought she was usually the object of their pranks and bets she was still their friend. Earlier this morning they made a bet guessing what time Bella would first see them.  
  
They saw Bella and her friend (who they could only guess was Lily Evans) walked over to them.  
  
"Ha! I'm taller then you Remus!" said Bella.  
  
"Nice to see you to Bella," Remus said sarcastically.  
  
"And Frank… you're still taller then me. That's just not fair! I'm older then you at least. Oh, and this is my friend Li – "  
  
"Lily Evans," they said in unison.  
  
"Do you ever talk about anything else besides me Bella?" asked Lily with a smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Please Tanya!" James Potter begged. "One little prank!"  
  
"Yeah," agreed his best friend Sirius Black. "One little prank never hurt anyone. Plus what are we going to do until the train leaves in half and hour?"  
  
"No pranks."  
  
"Please!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please!"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Please!"  
  
"I said no and I mean it now shut up!"  
  
There was a short pause. "Please!"  
  
Tanya Black slammed shut her book and looked out the compartment's window. She knew perfectly well that one little prank played by her twin brother and friend could hurt a lot of people. Well, not really hurt more then mentally damage.  
  
"If I go against your elders words and let you do one tiny, little prank before we get to school will you promise not to do anything bad to me today?" Tanya asked. Her long black hair fell to her waist was put in pigtails and her chocolate brown eyes were usually hid behind a book. The only thing she didn't like about how she looked was the fact that she looked like her twin. Same colored hair and same colored eyes. Only Sirius was much taller. James, who had been their friends since they were babies, looked a lot like them too. Same jet black hair, only blue eyes.  
  
"Oh, we won't do anything to you," said James with a smile.  
  
"Yes oh-so-wonderful sister," said Sirius. "We'll wait until tomorrow to bother you."  
  
Sirius and James ran out of the compartment before Tanya could say another word.  
  
"I don't know what I'm going to do with them," sighed Tanya.  
  
  
  
"I say we turn someone's pet another color," said Sirius as him and James walked out of the train.  
  
"Sure, the next person we see." James looked around. "Who would just happen to be that little cutie over there." James pointed to a girl walk with bright red hair standing right out side the train holding an owl's cage with another girl standing next to her.  
  
"That hair is so irresistible. I say we turn her hair a few different colors."  
  
"May I do the honors?"  
  
"Go right ahead," said Sirius. James pulled out his wand and muttered something under his breath. A second later the girl's hair was blue and pink.  
  
"Oh my God, Lily!" yelled her friend. "Your hair!"  
  
The girl, who was obviously named Lily, looked at a strand of her hair and screamed. Immediately everyone on the platform looked at her and started laughing (the students laughed anyway while parents gave them disapproving looks).  
  
"James Potter!" Tanya's voice came from behind them. "That wasn't little! I can't believe you did that! Sirius Black why did you tell him to do that!"  
  
Lily pushed past James and Sirius and went back into the train. Her friend quickly followed her (not noticing that she had forgotten her kitten). James and Sirius continued to laugh.  
  
"That was one of the worse things you've ever done James," said Tanya. "You didn't even know that girl."  
  
"Loosen up, Tan," said Sirius. Tanya punched her brother in the stomach and went in the train to find Lily and apologize.  
  
  
  
Cecile Pettigrew didn't laugh when she saw the girl's hair change colors. However she did laugh when she saw another girl punch the other boy in the stomach.  
  
"Stop laughing Peter!" she yelled at her brother. "That wasn't funny!"  
  
"Cecile, you don't think anything is funny," said Peter.  
  
The two of them were in one of the train compartments with their heads out the window watching the scene that had just happened.  
  
Cecilia and Peter Pettigrew were sister and brother. They were only born 11 months apart, which meant they had to be in the same year in Hogwarts. Cecile had curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Peter also had blondish colored hair and blue eyes.  
  
Cecile looked over and saw that the boys were going back on the train with some other kids following them.  
  
"We should let them sit with us," said Peter. "I would like to be friends with people like them who like jokes and have a sense of humor. Unlike you."  
  
"And I would like it if our mother stopped having kids after Trey," said Cecile. The compartment door opened and a little cat wandered in. it's collar said "Diana" and on the back their was a picture of the girl from outside with the cat. Peter heard people talking loudly outside the door. He opened it and found James and Sirius standing their talking to two other boys. (A.N. – I really don't want to go into descriptions again so I'll just tell you now that they are Frank and Remus)  
  
"I think you can look forward to Lily doing something back to you," said Remus.  
  
"Her friend Bella has been telling us about her for years and we know that she loved to get revenge on people," said Frank.  
  
"I'm not scared of that little girl," said James. "She can't do anything to me."  
  
"Excuse me," said Cecile. "Put personally I think what you did to that girl was horrible."  
  
"No one asked your opinion," said Sirius. "I mean it's really none of your business."  
  
"I wasn't any of your business to turn that girls hair an other color on her first day of school when you don't even know her."  
  
Sirius stood up and went next to Cecile. "Are you going to do something about that?" Cecile punched Sirius in the stomach and left.  
  
"Oww! Why do all girls have to do that to me?! It was James who did it!"  
  
"Sorry about her," said Peter. "She does that to, well… everyone. She's a bit mental."  
  
  
  
  
  
"This day was supposed to be amazing!" Lily yelled in anger. "Now everyone is going to remember me as the 'Lily who's hair changes colors'!"  
  
Bella pulled out her wand and muttered a spell that turned Lily's hair back. "It'll be okay Lil."  
  
There was a knock at the door, in opened a second later and a girl walked in.  
  
"I'm Tanya Black," she said. "I am so sorry for what happened to you. James and Sirius do that to everyone. They can't help it."  
  
"It's not your fault Tanya," said Lily. "You don't have to apologize, he should. What did you say his name is?"  
  
"James Potter. I've known him my whole life. The other boy is Sirius Black, my twin brother. Are you both first years?"  
  
"Yeah," said Bella. "You are too, right?"  
  
"Yeah." There was another knock on the door and another girl walked in.  
  
"Hi," she said, "I'm Cecile Pettigrew. I think that was horrible what that boy did to you. I think you forgot this on the platform." She put Diana in Bella's arms.  
  
"I can't believe I forgot you Diana. I'm so sorry."  
  
"She reminded me of my old cat Middy. I was going to bring her to Hogwarts until my brother Peter let her out and she ran away."  
  
"I know just what you mean," said Tanya. "My brother Sirius does things like that to me too."  
  
"When I got my letter last month my sister stopped talking to me," said Lily. "I thought that would be the worse thing that every happened to me. But I was wrong, this is!"  
  
"Once my brother Ethan turned my hair purple and I stayed like that for two months," said Cecile.  
  
"How many brothers do you have?" asked Bella. "All I have is two sisters."  
  
"Three, but none of them are really my brothers. Ethan is 10 years older then me, Trey 9 years, and Peter 11 months. We're in the same year."  
  
"Well, my parents raise me, Sirius, and James and my 9-year-old brother Astin," said Tanya. "James parents and brother were killed last year." No one said anything for a few moments.  
  
"Sorry, I just really don't know what to say after someone you just met says that to you," said Bella, which caused the other girls to laugh.  
  
The compartment door slide open again and James walked in. The girls could see Sirius, Frank, Remus, and Peter in the hall behind him.  
  
"Listen Lily," said James. "It was just a joke. Don't hold a big grudge just because you didn't think it was funny."  
  
Lily smiled sweetly at James, which surprised everyone. She then stood up and punched James in the stomach (much harder then Tanya and Cecile had punched Sirius). James fell to the ground in pain.  
  
"Mark my words James Potter," said Lily. "I will have my revenge."  
  
Those nine first years didn't know it then but they were going to be friends for the rest of their lives. Some would fall in love with each other and others would hold ever-lasting grudges. But one thing was for sure; they were stuck together for the rest of their short lives.  
  
  
  
By,  
  
6.1 Kimmy Larisa 


	2. In Djibouti

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2 So sorry for the delay. I was almost finished with this a few months ago, but then I didn't have any time to write. Anyway it's finished now, so I hope you like it!  
  
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6 The Way Things Used to Be  
  
7 Chapter 2 – In Djibouti  
  
  
  
"Mark my words, James Potter," said Lily. "I will have my revenge."  
  
It had been four years since the fateful day Lily spoke those words to James. Those words may have been, as some say "The start of a beautiful friendship". Well, if you could call their friendships beautiful anyway.  
  
James Potter became the Gryffindor seeker his second year at school. He was the leader of his friends and so far came in second place for most detentions. He was known to have a new girlfriend every few weeks. Almost every girl in school went crazy over him, with a few exceptions of course.  
  
Lily Evans was one of the most popular girls in school and for a good reason too. She was pretty, smart and nice to everyone (except James, but more on that later). She valued friendships more than anything. In her 3rd year her parents were killed by Voldermort. Her and Petunia had been living with the Figg's ever since.  
  
Of course it's not like this story is only about Lily Evans and James Potter. It's also about Sirius and Tanya Black, Cecilia and Peter Pettigrew, Arabella Figg, Remus Lupin, and Frank Longbottom. And later on maybe even some others.  
  
Back to Lily and James.  
  
You couldn't call them enemies exactly, but you definitely couldn't call them friends. They had more what could be called a love/hate relationship. But if you asked their friends it was more love then hate. Every once in a while the two of them would call a truce and agree to from then on get along. So far it never worked out. Within hours of their little "agreements" they would be yelling at each other at the top of their lungs.  
  
Everyone knew Lily and James would end up together. Even Lily and James knew. Not that they would ever admit it, or would they?  
  
Now on to our real story…  
  
  
  
Gryffendor Common Room…  
  
"Hey, what's Djibouti?" asked Sirius. Him, James, Bella, and Frank were sitting in the common room. Bella was reading a book called 'Witch Week' and James and Frank were throwing a ball to each other (which was really a bottle of Bella's nail polish James had transfigured without her noticing). Remus, Cecile and Tanya were in the library. Lily was off with her boyfriend Ben. And Peter was in a detention.  
  
"I think it's a country in Africa," said Frank.  
  
"What's with the sudden interest in geography?" asked James.  
  
"No interest, I just wanted to know. Hey, what language do people speak in Djibouti?"  
  
"I don't know… maybe Djiboutin," said James, laughing.  
  
"Oh, okay. Hey, what do people wear in Djibouti?"  
  
"We don't know Sirius," said Frank.  
  
"Okay. What do people look like in Djibouti?"  
  
"Don't know," said James.  
  
"What do people…"  
  
"No Sirius! We don't know what they eat in Djibouti!" yelled Bella. "And you know what else we don't care! Most people don't even know what Djibouti is! And the people who don't know probably don't – where did you get a purple glitter ball the same color as my nail polish? Where is my nail polish?"  
  
The boys started to laugh as Bella looked under all of the chairs and tables in the common room. She finally gave up and pulled out her wand and said, "Accio nail polish." The ball came to her hand and she yelled, "James!"  
  
James didn't have enough time to get up before Bella started to throw the ball at his head. It bounced back at her, so she threw it at his again. And again. And again. After about twenty minutes the portrait hole opened and Lily stormed in. She walked towards the staircase to the girls' dorms and stopped right before it.  
  
"Everyone listen to me!" yelled Lily. Immediately in everyone the common room, from 1st to 7th years, stopped what they were doing and looked at her. They had all learned long ago that when Lily Evans wanted to say something everyone had to listen. "I have had a very, very bad day! This could be called the worst day of my life, and it's only 1 o'clock. I am going to be spending the next 4 hours in my dorm having a fit. And I swear if one person, I don't even care if it's even my best friend, disturbs me I will hurt you all!" She walked up two steps before turning around again. "Bella! Aren't you coming?"  
  
"I'm busy," said Bella.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Continually throwing my nail polish at James' head."  
  
"That's not nail polish. That's a ball."  
  
"He transferred it."  
  
"Wait, isn't that Cecile's nail polish?"  
  
"Oh yeah. But still!"  
  
Lily looked torn between making Bella go up stairs or letting her stay and torture her enemy. She grabbed the ball from Bella and handed it to Frank.  
  
"Just keep throwing this at him until she gets back."  
  
"Okay, I can do that," said Frank as he started throwing the ball at James head and Bella and Lily went up stairs. "Doesn't this bother you?" he asked James.  
  
"No," said James, "you get used to it after the first 50 or 60 times."  
  
After watching them for a few minutes Sirius got bored and transferred Bella's book into a ball. He joined Frank in throwing it at James. The portrait hole opened again and Tanya, and Cecile walked in. They started to walk to the boys.  
  
"You have to let me be your bridesmaid," Cecile was saying, "when you get married to – "  
  
"Shut up!" said Tanya. "You know that despite how stupid these boys may seems they still understand when you talk to them."  
  
"Who's my little sister going to marry Cecile?" asked Sirius.  
  
"See what you did!" Tanya said to Cecile. She didn't notice because she was staring at James and Frank.  
  
"Remind me why we're friends with these people," said Cecile.  
  
"I think we were tricked into it."  
  
"You see what happened was," started Sirius, "James got bored so he…"  
  
"We didn't ask!" said Tanya. "What happened to Bella?"  
  
"Miss Perfect Lily Evans had one of her midday crisis," said James. "So Bella went to listen to her complain."  
  
"Lily also said that if even if her best friend disturbs her she will 'hurt all of us'," said Frank.  
  
"Come on Tanya, we better get up there," said Cecile.  
  
"Didn't you used to have nail polish that color?" said Tanya when she took notice of the balls being thrown at James.  
  
"Yeah, Bella is borrowing it. Didn't you have a book called Witch Week? That is what Sirius's ball says."  
  
"Yeah, Bella is borrowing it. Well, lets go see Lil. I bet it was something James did that made her mad," said Tanya as they started walking up the stairs.  
  
"No, it's always James. I think it was her sister this time."  
  
The conversation faded as the girls walked the rest of the way and were out of site.  
  
"She tells no one to go up there when she really wants them too," said James. "Some girls are just impossible."  
  
"Most girls are just like the Lily," said Sirius. "They use their weird language to confuse us and make us say things we don't mean. Even sisters will use it get you to do things for them."  
  
"Either I've known you for too long or that made sense," said Frank. "Gwen does that all the time to me. Although most of the time she tells me to stop being friends with you, Sirius."  
  
"Who's Gwen?" asked Sirius.  
  
"My sister," said Frank. "You've met her a bunch of times. She the one over on the other side of the room sitting next to Bella's sister Janine."  
  
"Bella has a sister?"  
  
"Right there." Frank pointed to two girls across the room you were in fact Janine Figg and Gwen Longbottom.  
  
"I know those two. I tried to talk to them once in Hogsmeade. They told me to go to hell."  
  
"Yeah, they do that a lot."  
  
"Sirius, you know that you have a brother and sister, right?" asked James referring to Tanya and their younger brother in his 3rd year Astin Black.  
  
"Yeah I know that. I'm not that stupid."  
  
"But you are a little bit stupid."  
  
"Of course I am."  
  
"Hey, didn't Remus go to the library with Tanya and Cecile?"  
  
  
  
Library…  
  
"So then he said –" Bertha Jorkins when on talking about the latest gossip she had heard while Remus listened. Well, not exactly listening… more like trying figure out a way to escape. He had been walking back to the Common Room with Tanya and Cecile when Tanya remembered she had forgotten her essay. Remus had offered to go back and get it for her. Unfortunately he had run into Bertha Jorkins in the library and was forced to listen to some gossip she had over heard by the lake. "So then Ben said something like now you are officially – "  
  
"Bertha, I really have to get back to the Common Room," said Remus, "so I think I'll just be leaving now…"  
  
"No! I didn't finish yet! I thought you would like this story! It's about your friend Lily you know."  
  
"I don't care! I guaranty you I will have to here this story everyday for the next week by Lily. So I'm leaving."  
  
  
  
Gryffendor Common Room again…  
  
"Hey Remus, where were you?" asked Frank.  
  
"In the same room with Bertha Jorkins," said Remus. "Imagine the rest."  
  
"Wait!" yelled James. "You're kidding me! Bertha Jorkins knew where the library was? I mean come on, Sirius doesn't even know where the library is."  
  
"Yes, I do!" said Sirius. "It's that place with the – um… hey Remus, do you know what they eat in Djibouti?"  
  
  
  
The Gryffendor Girl's Dorm…  
  
"I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!!!" Lily yelled as Tanya and Cecile walked into the room. Lily was going around the room throwing random items on to a pile on the floor while Bella sat on her bed looking bored as she thumbed through a magazine.  
  
"Told you it was about James," said Tanya. "It always is."  
  
"I'm not talking about Potter!" yelled Lily. "I don't hate him. Well… yeah, I do. But he's not who I'm talking about."  
  
"Who is it then?" asked Cecile. "You seemed so happy this morning when you went to go see Ben –" Lily cut her off with a scream and continued throwing things on to her pile.  
  
"Bella, can you please tell us what's going on?" asked Tanya.  
  
"I wish I knew," said Bella. "All I've gotten out of her was "I hate him", "I hope he dies", and "That girl is going to dump him in a week and when that happens I am not going to go back to him no matter what he says". I think she may be talking about Ben."  
  
"Yes it's about Ben!" yelled Lily. "And what? It only took you half an hour to figure it out this time?"  
  
"No need for sarcasm."  
  
"Listen Lily," said Cecile, "you have to calm down. You can't just go around yelling your head off and attacking people every time something goes wrong. If I did that I guaranty you I would have killed my entire family by now. So why don't you just sit down and tell us what happened. And in a regular voice please. We can hear you perfectly fine with out the yelling."  
  
"Okay Miss Therapist," said Lily. "Not like it's going to help."  
  
"So, what happened?" asked Tanya.  
  
"It all started when I went to meet Ben by the lake…"  
  
  
  
A Few Hours Earlier Outside…  
  
Lily ran down to lake where she was meeting her Ravenclaw boyfriend Ben O'Brien. They had been dating since the beginning of their 5th year and so far everything was working out between them. Next month they were planning on being the best couple at they Valentines Day Ball (A.N. – I know it's clichéd, but I honestly don't care).  
  
She pulled her cloak tight around her body to block out the cold January air. She finally spotted Ben not to far away and ran to him.  
  
"Hi Lily, we need to talk," said Ben before she could even greet him.  
  
Lily began to laugh at his "we need to talk joke", but stopped when she realized he was serious. A few days ago Ben said to Lily the worst thing a girl could say to a guy is "we need to talk".  
  
"Sure, what do you need to tell me?"  
  
"Well, we've been dating for a few months now and –"  
  
"Lower your voice, Bertha Jorkins is only a few feet away."  
  
He ignored her request and talked even louder.  
  
"I don't think we should see each other any more. You're kind of pretty, so I'm sure you can find someone else for the Ball next month. I've already found someone else to go with."  
  
Lily was growing furious. "Who?!?"  
  
"Narcissa Hopkins."  
  
"I can't believe you Ben! You're such a horrible person! I am never, ever going to take you back! I hate you! You're even worst then James Potter!"  
  
"Lily," said Ben in a calm voice, "consider yourself officially dumped. I hope we can still be friends."  
  
  
  
The Gryffendor Girl's Dorm again…  
  
"I dare he say that to you!" said Bella. "The boy never says, "I hope we can still be friends"!"  
  
"And that stupid remark about being "officially dumped"," said Tanya. "Who does he think he is?"  
  
"I am so sorry Lily," said Cecile. "Forget what I said. You be as mad as you want."  
  
"That's why I'm doing this," said Lily. She pointed to the pile. "These are all of the things he gave me or remind be of him. I'm going to destroy them all."  
  
"And you're going to make us help?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"I wonder if they ever do this in Djibouti," said Bella. Her mouth fell open and she started to scream. The other girls just laughed.  
  
  
  
By,  
  
Kimmy Larisa  
  
KimmyLarisa@aol.com 


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